guide to a resurge in economy and to a renewed greatness. like so many of you, paul and i have left everything on the field. we have given our all to i sohat i hopes to lea but the nation chose another leader, and sveo ann and i join earnestly pray for him and for this great nation. thank you and god bless america. guys are the best. thank you so much. thank you. thanks, guys. >> at 1:00 a.m. eastern short speeds from massachusetts governor mitt romney conceding the presidential election to joined on stage there by his wife ann romney by his running mate paul ryan and by paul ryan's wife. they flew inch. it was short. it was to the point. it was direct. and full the best tone in the campaign. he did it just right.

he said the election is over. aid he picked the right v.p. he didn't lay anything on paul ryan, which is appropriate. he said he called the esident. anere. he said we have to end the partisan bickering. he didn't come out dragging his family surrounded by him. he too right up there by himself. i thought it was very well done. >> he began by -- >> no complaints. >> he began by congratulateing was very prays the president's success. andtation that i haven't seen in hisj and this is so common that good and decent people when they have to give a concession speecht'b out more abo is, and this looks like a man who knows what he's going to do tomorrow. he doesn't look like someoneho is lost. he doesn't look like somne who doesn't know how to go on with lifeó without having this high office. >> it looked to me like he had thousand-pound brick taken off his back pretty say and how he wanted to say he d absolutely no pressure whatsoever. >> i a way t president and actually present

himself without taking all this o say this i'm going to have to say this and i'm going to have to say this to knock off each county would have been a very interesting campaign. >> steve, you were talking abo the importance of the matter who is giving terms of what it means for us as a civic moment. >> i thought it was very, very well done. something of himself. he revealed that this is at man who gave his full effortshort. and that full effort should be admired. he did what he needed to do. he did it with clas dignity, with grace. i think he's deeply rooted in his faith and hi i don't think there's any doubt that he's a completesn't entirely about politics. mitt romney will make contahead. no doubt about it. >> reverend ale really rose to the he appealed to go aisle and let's try to worker for the country. he made so excuses. he said we left everything important th made no excusei would hope the his party does what he said.

regardless of my feelings earlier say what i never thought he would say, and i give h saying it. i hope this beg new dialogue in the country. we will see. >> he's a standup guy to paul ryan. there's been a aboutxifv christie. tonight as chris was saying a moment ago. he his wife was the best decision i ever made. paul ryan was the next best decision i ever made. that's strong and that's taking sible. >> yeah, i think chris matthews note the alone. the support he got from his wife and his running mate's wife and then to be followed by the family. it was striking visual. i'm not that visual a person but i'm moved by seein families there, accepting applause from the crowds hetfelt applause from the it's over, they're taking it with and this nighty weird -- stunning knockout in the third round. >> well, we had the race11:15.supporters in chi called, but the race called and then we have this very odd hour and a half

wh n with that race that didn't look like it was going to gorace. to haved of messij it's the right thing to do bycountry. >> can i small? i came into politlibewith mormons. ot liberal from utah ever in our lifetime.-= harry reid is a mormon. and this is a towell no one made a big deal about this guy's religion. it w results that showed anyt we have no religious test in unning force. i'm so proud. ood friends with the marriott. my wife works fortç them. i think the mormons are a mixede in it. doesn't tell you much about the right or wrongness of anybody. he did prove a mormon can be him. it was policy as you pointed positions, of which ntier ofu? his religion. he can say he got that done. it's a credit to both parties >> let's

remember the reason his religion was discussed in by analysts at in point was the thumping side the republican party, and that's where anti-mormonreside. if he was running in thelz primaries, it wouldn't be aor. they don't get it. >> harry reids a morming that is subtle signif romney said i called the president andwñ congratulated him. there was no booingn the audience. true. >> i thought the would have been more explosive, negative reaction. why it took two xhours to do it would sink i think there's so been put into . thesibility to do their own this. >> absolutely. and just youcan go to b everytoekt. and i think they handled it really well. >> we're looking at live images coin. this is the victory at obama he we have a ident biden after president obama and vice

presidenth of theirzing point with the race just being called. i want bringb. michael steeletion the partyaile i have too the immediate news we just experienced,ey's concessionge hour and a half, two hours that proceeded it where his campaign was giving president of the united states and the vp on thection. we all$d nowave to come together because we face real challenges. we have a leader prepared to us forward. i wo congratulations mitt romney and paul ryaheir effort to engage in the debate. that's ultimately what this was about. should have been about. and to the work that needs to be done that those two men engag party, our party to get at the table to work with this president, this new about the said it best. that's the process of not giving up. finding something to hold after the loyou don't want to in that moment. you want

sure the now telling you. so i thinks it began, in a way that the american spirit. people a part of a political process, and we've watched that transition think in a very magnanimous on his gracious campaign to you are a veteran of the kind of ideological combat republican party and the differicirection the re what iicans losing the senate seats that really seemed rdoch. we saw in missouri. claire mc in a bluelly because they picked really far, far right noes inside the republican party? >> well i think electoral spanking is profound your behind spanked the way we've been to pay attention to the reasons why. you have to listen to what the american people "have said tonight.

i don't think this was so of conserv rejection of the way we presentive n the hearts and ears o a lot of people who thought we were not sympathetic. not prepared to engage. that's a fault andour part as a party. when i loo coming of the ash heap of 2009 and 2008. to engage the amerixt%n people on big ideas. whet cap and trade, and to watch squandered over the years, i the party to understand america point, the panel really appreciates in many history5= unveil itself before our very eyes in for in of the united states was electedk by a 9y minority of americans. that to me says something even more profound than the election itself and that is a%k party we the moments are passing us by ast 50,000 hispanics turn 18 years eve that over a years, are we up generation of and

not engage them? this is an important wake-up call this spanking that we got. no one saw this m coin way. the american people made clear they had aboth parties, i steele thank you for being with us. it's late i know. it's aer night for republicans to staythan it is democrats. thank you, sir. we appreciate having you nobody is tired now. the celebration therecelebration of what happened, the fact the the stop on whatever his result was and has conceded the race directly and in a very gracious fashion that isremains to be done is victory speech by president obama. it is after 1:00 a.m. on the east coast. on the west coast, this is going to be a late night speech for this president, but very important speech. you've heard different takes on what needs to be done in the speech just in terms of the panel. what people are looking for in the president. personally i expt a dent elected in even moderately competitive circumstances. what remains to be seenmuch he talks

policy and how much he talkssecond-term or whether this is big ideas and not details speech. we are awaiting his speech in chicago. i want to go to chuck todd who is looking at the races that still need to be called. don't have presidential election results in florida, in nevada. chuck, what can yout still outstand sng. >> >>. >> we don't have any vote fro as soon as we do get some it us to go that for the president, and huge lead out of clarke county, which is something that we expected. out of virginia look i'vehing that's availabley" what remains is scraps of precincts. but with what remains, it's hard to imagine how mitt romney makes up. still vote lef another area where the president did well. so it's hard t how the president's lead he loses that lead there. it's going to then finally florida, the bad

news is miami-dade's apparently not going to count all their vote tonight. they have already announced that. so we're not going to have a full count from them. i don' make up wha it looks like that i have to find somewhere. you throw all three of the@) states and electoral votes. the only states the only state they lost was the state of north carolina. >> wow. >> they set that ground map, and death.w there's plentyd about the messaging, but it worked. they pulled it off. but remember agains tomorrow. democrats may a senate do the fiscal cliff, the negotiation that's coming up over the next six weeks. the democ stronger hand, not just because the president won re-election butuse theld be more

democratic in the newouse is reelected by about the same margin. and speaking of house races, do you realize that there's 120 michele bachmann and her democratic opponent. allen west and patrick west and bachmann are two familiar members of congressb+÷ to some folks, and might be interesting results to people watching us. >> here's the thingk about allen west and michee's less suspense about the races than there might be for a national audience. you know if they lose their seats in congress they're obviously getting?$ television show ls. yong to see them less. >> that was always my choice about massachusetts senate. winner runs fornt elizabeth warren. i don't know. scott brown may get a talk show. you're right about allen i thought the same thing about alan grayson. >> mhele bachmann and all we know w shows. with scott browd or scott brown the way we'll check back in with you. the other thing going on that has been historic and unexpected

others i initiatives have gone around thd the country. including on same-sex marriage. not just maryland maine may have made big history on the issue of marriage equality tonight. ck after this break as well as other ballot initiatives around the state. we are awaiting a victory speech from preside the crowd is still going wild waiting for him. that's expected momentarily. we'll be right back.

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msnbc's live raon 2012. a little ray of sunshine for the publican ticket. paul ryan did notresign his u.s. house seat run for vice president. and paul ryan has beenreelected to district oneis democratic , ef56-42. that's with 82% of vote.

ballot initiatives. voters in maryland passed a referendum upholding alaw allowing same-sex marriage. in maryland 52-48 right now is the vote. same looking to be true inwashington state. initiative in washington state to confirm a marriage equality ballot is also ahead at this hour. in the great state of maine nor the first time in the history of the issue voters worked to put a measure on the ballot that was a pro gay rights measure. and right now initiative in winning. in minnesota voters are deciding what they are asked to decide.fically like to ban constitution. that effort is very close right the gay rights side just barely losing in minnesota. we've also seen a handful of tonight. a medical marijuana measure failed tonight in arkansas but a medical marijuana measu state of massachusetts.colorado, a measure to allown

personal useassed tonight. in washington voters tonight approved a similar measure, marijuana, however, in oregon a measure to legalize marijusure in oregon is losing right now. california voters considered ending the death that measure is losing in california. in florida voters have rejecte constitutio with 98% of precincts repo digits, by rgin in michig@ are deciding whether to appeal the emergency allowing them to take over financially troubled cities. something we have covered extensively over the past couple of years.majority of michigan voters want to repeal that emergency manager law. that emergency manager law i ought thauz was the single most rod call piece of legislation that was put into place. not just proposed a place after a republica takeover. the emergency management law was a dramatic strengthening of

previous laws in the state, essentially allowing the and ovhele whoever you v overruleofficials. they could step inoverseer and ff the assets with nobody in the town having any say over it that is on its way to repeal in mian right now with a majority of precincts reporting. although there's definitive oh on that one yet. the very excited happy seen tha you see here are in ch this crowd of obama supporters awaits the president's victory speech tonight. these folks do not look tired. >> i'm looking for my daughter. she's somewhere in that crowd tonight. it's interesting. you're talking about the sax-sex issue. you live through it. it's a big issue. it+@as a big negative problem politically for the democrats just eight years really yanked down the party. thanks t kipg and karl rove and all thoseho tused it against other way. think the absolutist gay rights viewplatform.

>> it is in the platform. it is decreasingly sup i think there's going to come some sort of break in republican politics where they realize on gay rights even before they reelz it on the other demographic issues that they are standing on shifting ground. leme get your take on it. >> there's more and more the time that coming out and endorsing marriage equality. there's scores do there were more republican votes partly because of the size of the republican majority in the le but more republican votes togalize gay marriage for the first time than democratic votes. moment. divide in the party. you see northeast on issues of gay equality. in the northeast and in the west are out of step with evangelical christian republicans in the south, for example. and so the other aspect of this is generational.

we saw mitt romney tonight. he's almost certain to be t last baby boomer er nominee of hillary clinton in 2016 but these candidate who is are the future of the republican pay, paul ryan marco rubio, are be out of step? which is the first one of those conservatives of the future to breakzy to define conserti around the issue of gay marriage. in my case i'm my position in support of gay marriage is of my conservatism. i want people to be married. stabilizing institution for society. it's good. and i think you'll see growing support for it. >> did you hear paul ryan just the other day? raving about how barack obama is a threatchristian culture, an enemy of the ? who is this guy out defending long way toh you, sñ >> before president obama speaks i want t;b tamron

hall to talk about the gender and racial dynamics at play tonight in this victory for the president. >> yeah, rachel. we knew the president's s had to be not to suffer a huge loss with white voters maintain his momentum or advantage with q2non-whites. white vote. a lot less than john mccain. but still we know enough to win. tonight let's look at theis not far from his performance four years ago with 44 pk of the white vote. he matched his 80%. the same as we saw four years ago.efitted from a gender gap tonight. 55% to 43%, which more than made up for al. 60 pk of young people v the president. still a solid group for obama. so a lot of in for certainly they have to think about women and latinos and you ca for example,

the african-american candidate, of f&co is african-american. hit on this mike murphy they have a lot to !z discuss. >> looking at that you're reacting audibly to 80% of the nonwhite vote going to obama. but the white vote declining from 403% to 40%. >> that's not obama went up. i am -- well i happen to be white. and i've been very shamed in the election by the comments made by people supposedly on behalf of the race, which we don't need perpetrators and agitators doing it. it didn't have a mass effect. that's such a good thing about the country. we're still trying to pick the best it's that much erosion when you consider the years. just so negative from his birth certificate -- guy. get out of your car.

show me the birth certificate. who are you? i'e of the states. >> it was vicious. but the country rose above it. they said his race ofnon-whites were not going to come out and areas that went up. so a lot of critics on that side are left empty handed because the president did lose support. and again, it. take a lot of us a while to get over. i think we're challenged tonight to accept it. >> him. >> let me just go. we think we have couple of minutes until the president speaks. literally. be ask jeanne robinson "washington post" to weigh in in terms of what he's expecting and what is imm the president given the way this victory out. jeanne? >> we still have a divided country. that popular vote is going to be pretty cl have a big lead in the electoral college. to here is

a tries to embracing tone that tries to reach out. i guess across the aisle, but really across ethnic groups and genter and all the divisions that kind of came out in this campaign. i think -- excuse me -- i think it will be an seeks to set a tone. for going forw because remember, you know the good news is that president obama won still for four more years in a country that has huge challenges and that is so dwited on so many issues. so i expect it to expect it to be fairly big. not in terms of policy, but in terms of bringing us together. >> gene remember the famous onion headline when he won in 2008? black n given worst job in america. is this job harder the next fourthan the first four? >> well some years were

pretty tough. here we are in the second four years. we have big agenda items. we have an economy recovering but that really won't ignite. if it would it would make the other tasks so much easier. he needs a different relationship with the business community. we can't think of him as enemy. and here he is. >> the president is taking the stage now with his family.wiirst lady and with their a rapturous and adoreing crowd in chicago. let's take a listen. [ cheers and applause ]

♪ [ cheering ]é/ ♪ signed, sealed delivered ♪ [ cheering ] [ cheers and applause ♪ [ cheers and applause ]6

[ cheers and applause ] [ cheering ] >> thank you. thank you. thank you so much.

tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves forw it moves forward because of you. it moves forward because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression, the spirit that has liftd this country from the depths of despair to the great heights of hopes. the belief that while each of us will pursue our own individual dreams, we are an a family, and we rise or fall together as one nation and as one people. [ cheering ] tonight in this election you,

the american people, reminded us that while our road has been hard while our journey has been long we have fought our way back. and we know in our hearts that for the united states of america, the best is yet to come. [ cheering ] i want to thank every american who participated in this election. whether you voted for the very first time or waited in line for a very long time -- by the way, we have to fix that.

whether you pounded the pavement or picked up the phone. whether you held an obama sign or a romney sign, you made your voice heard. and you made a difference. i just spoke with governor romney, and i congratulated him and paul ryan on a hard fought campaign. fiercely but it's only because we love this and we care so strongly about its future. from george to lenore to their son mitt the romney family has chosen to give back through american service, and that's the we honor and applaud tonight.

in the also look forward to sitting down with governor romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward. i want to thank my friend and partner of the last four years, america's happy warrior, the best vice president anybody could ever hope for, joe biden. [ cheering ] >> and i wouldn't be the man i am today without the woman who agreed to marry me 20 years ago. let me say this publicly, michelle, i have never loved you

more. i have never been prouder to watch the rest of america fall in love with you, too, as our nation's first lad [ cheering ] sasha and maleia before our very eyes you're going upyoung women, just like your mom. proud of you guys. but i w say that for now one dog is probably enough. to the best campaign team and volunteers in the history of politics. [ cheering ] the best. the best ever.

some of you were new this time around, and some of you beginning. but all of you are family. no matter what you do or where you go from here you will carry the memory of the history we made together. and you will have the lifelong appreciation of a grateful ou for believing all the way through valley. you lifted me up the whole way. and i wi for everything that you've done and all the incredi sometimes seem small, even

silly, and that provides plenty of fodder for the cynics who tell us that politics is nothing more than a contest of r the domain of special interests. but if you ever get thence to talk to folks and crowded along the rope line iné) a high scho or saw at a campaign office in some tiny county far away from home, you'll discover something else. you'll hear the determination in of a young field organizer who's working his way through college and wants to make sure every child has that same opportunity. you'll hear the pride in the voice of a volunteer who is going door t finally hired when the local auto plant added another shift.you'll hear the deep

patriotism in the voice of a military spouse who's working the phones late at night to make sure tha no one who fights for this country ever has to fight for a job or a roof over their head when they come home. [ cheering ] that's why we do this. that's what politics can be. that's why elections matter. it's not small, it's big. it's important. democracy in a nation of 300 million can be noisy and messy and complicated. we have our own opinions. each of us has deeply held beliefs. when we go through tough times, when we make big decisions as a country it necessarilypassions stirs up controversy.

that won't change after tonight. these arguments we have are a mark of our liberty. can never forget that as we speak people in distant nations are risking their lives rit now just for a chance to argue. abues that matter. the chance to cast their ballots like we did today. but despite all our differences, most of us share certain hopes for america's future. up in a country where they have access to the best schools and the best teachers. a country that lives up to its legacy as the global leader and discovery and innovation with all the jobs and businesses that follow. our in america that isn't burdened by1 debt, that isn't weakened by

inequality, that isn't by the destructive power of a and respected and admired around the world. a nation that is defended by the strongest military on earth and the best troopsbh this world has ever known. but also a country that moves with confidence beyond this time of war to st is built on the promise of freedom or every human being. we believe in a generous ompassionate america. in a tolerant america. open to the dreams immigrant's daughter who studies in our schools and pledges to our flag. to the young boy on the south

side of chicago who sees a life beyond the nearest street corner. to the furniture worker's child in north carolina who wants to become a doctor or a scientist, an engineer or an entrepreneur a diplomateven a president. that's the future we hope for. that's the vision we share. that's where we need to go. forward. that's where we need to go. and we will disagree. sometimes fiercely about how to get there. as it has for more than two centuries, p fitsnd. it's not always a straight line. it's not always a smooth path. bytself the recognition that titute for the pain saking

ï uilding making the difficult compromises needed to move this country forward. but that common bond is where we must begin. recovering. a decade of war is ending. a long campaign is now over. and whenther i earned youre or not, i have listened to you. i have learned from you, and you've made me a better president. and with your stories'5 and your struggles, i return to the white house a more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead. cheering ]

tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. you elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours. and in the coming weeks and months, i am looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties to meet the challenges we can only solve together. reducing our deficit, reforming our tax code faxixing ourourself from foreign oil. we've got more work to do. but that doesn't mean your work is done.í the role of citizen in our democracy does not end wit your vote. america has never been about what can be done for us. it's about what can b. through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self government.

founded on. this country than any nation. but that's not what makes us rich. we have the most powerful military in history, but that's not what makes us strong. our university our culture, are all the envy of theworld, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores. what makes america exceptional are the bonds that hold together the most diverse nation on earth. the belief that our destiny is shared, that this countryy works when we accept certain obligations to one another and the future generations so that the freedom which so many americans have fought for and died for comes with the rights and among those are love and charity and duty and patriotism. that's what makes america great. i

have seen the spirit of work in america. i've seen it in the family business whose owners would rather cut their own pay than lay off their neighbors and in the workers who would rather cut back their hours than see a friend lose their job. i've seen it in the soldiers who reenlist after losing a limb. and in those s.e.a.l.s who charged up the stairs into darkness and danger because they knew there was a buddy behind them watching their back. [ cheers and applause ] i've seen it on the shores of new jersey and new york, where leaders where from every party and level of government have swept aside their differences to help a community rebuild from the wreckage of a terrible

storm. and i saw just the other day in mentor, ohio where a father told the his 8-year-old daughter, whose long battle with leukemia nearly cost their family everything.een for health care reformj just a few months before the insurance company was about to stop paying for her care. [ cheering ] i had an opportunity to not just talk to the father but meet this incredible daughter of his. and when he so the crowd, listening to that father's story every parent in that room had tears in their eyes. because we knew that little girl

could be our own. and i know that every american wants her future to be just as bright. that's who we are. that's the country i'm so proud to lead as your president. and tonight, despite all the hardship we've been through, despite all the frustrations of washington i've never been more hopeful about our future. i have never been more hopeful about america. and i ask you to sustain that hope. i'm not talking about blind optimism. the kind of hope that just ignores the enormity of the tasks ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. i'm not talking about the wishful idealism that allows us

to just sit on the the sidelines or shirk from a fight. i have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching to keep working, to keep fighting. america, i believe we can build on the progress we've made and continue to fight for new jobs and new opportunity and new security for the middle class. i believe we can keep the promise, the idea that if you're willing to work hard it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you live it doesn't matter if you're black or white or hispanic or asian or native or old or rich or poor, abled, disabled gay or

straight. you can make it here in america if you're willing to try. i believe we can seize this future together. because we are not as divided as our politics suggest. we're not as cynical as the pundits believe. we are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states we are and forever will be the united states of america and together with your help and god's grace we will continue our that we live in the greatest nation on earth. thank you, america. god bless you. god bless these united states. [ cheering ]

[ cheering ] [ cheering ]